medical marijuana

Arizona officials used a bingo-style machine with sets of numbered air-blown balls Tuesday as they picked winners from among more than 400 applicants for certificates to run 97 medical marijuana dispensaries around the state.

A non-binding legal opinion by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne warns that federal law means that the state cannot authorize distribution of medical marijuana, but Horne says that doesn't stop the state from holding a lottery Tuesday to award dispensary certificates.

Requests to allow medical marijuana use in Arizona for additional medical conditions could be doomed by University of Arizona researchers' reports that they found little or no scientific evidence to support the proposals.

An Arizona judge says the state must proceed with allowing creation of dispensaries authorized by its voter-approved medical marijuana law, a step that may remove a major impediment to full implementation.